


Rise of the New Avengers

by ASOBlueRose



Series: New Avengers [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Turned Into Vampire, Christine is a Badass, Clones, Coming of Age, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Hypnosis, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Stephen Strange, Parent Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve, Tags May Change, Vampire Bites, Vampire Turning, Vampires, eventual stucky - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:16:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23574427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASOBlueRose/pseuds/ASOBlueRose
Summary: Nearly twenty years after the events of Endgame, the world still needs heroes, and soon it will be up to the next generation to take over the mantles of their predecessors who paved the way of costumes, capes and crime fighting!Dwelling in the darkness, however, is a threat unlike any other seen before that threatens to tear apart our new young heroes and test the very morals of their mentors... This, is the Rise of the New Avengers!
Relationships: Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: New Avengers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696930
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. Vampire's Don't Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this whole insane story is based on and adapted from an RP, and is actually my first fanfic in years. I've worked really hard to adapt the storyline as best I can as I really think it's worth the read, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did roleplaying it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our tale begins often how most jokes do, with two vampires walking into a bar...

Unless one looked at their watch to know it was merely the evening, it was easy to mistake the charcoal black clouds in the sky for the deep black of night, save for the fact the only things twinkling were the rain drops as they plummeted to the earth. It tapped on Blade’s jacket as his boots splashed through the puddles of gathered water where the concrete sidewalk had risen or depreciated with age or had been torn out entirely into holes from water getting into the cracks and freezing in the winter. Water ran down the polarized lenses of his sunglasses, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat as a gust of wind parted and flapped the three panels of his coat. None judged the daywalker for his intriguing choice of wardrobe for there were none around to do so, only the rats that scurried by him in the alleyway dragging off whatever gold they had found from the trash of New York City. 

He could of gone in through the front entrance, he knew the club well enough from having to meet his contact there so often he doubted any of the regulars would have even batted an eyelid at him considering the general crowd the club tended to draw. What stopped him, however, was what he was investigating, which was what he had come to discuss with his contact. Considering the large population of New York within such a small area, the astronomical property prices, and the cost of living within the sprawling metropolis, nobody normally batted an eye at the homeless population. Some saw them as the problem, others as victims of circumstance, yet they were a staple of the City just as much as the Empire State Building. Good people fought for them, to keep the streets safe for them and for others, but nobody would bat an eye if they went missing. Blade himself wasn’t ashamed to admit their plights didn’t normally concern him, he had bigger fish to fry and normally left that to the Matt Murdocks and Jennifer Walters of the world. What had concerned him though, was the recent string of attacks upon the homeless population, all with the same story, all with the same circumstances and outcome afterwards. Thus why he was going to meet his contact, to find out what they knew about the attacks, and hopefully eliminate them from his list of suspects as to who was behind the attacks. He highly doubted they were involved given their solitary attitude, but he had been double-crossed and backstabbed enough times before whenever it came to his own kind that he had learned not to take all of what they said at face value. 

Coming to a stop in front of a sign and a fire exit, Blade turned the steel handle and opened the heavy door, slipping inside beneath the sign that read ‘Le Serpent Rouge’. Blade’s eyes quickly adjusted to the thick darkness of the club, the fast paced beat of the song the DJ had playing making the floor pulse beneath his shoes. The musty smell of sweat permeating the air with hints of marijuana and alcohol coming from the bar made his nose twitch as he moved around the dance floor. He could of cut through, but he wasn’t here to waste time by navigating the jungle of flesh when he could just as easily slip around the side tables to find the steps leading to the catwalk and second floor. Steel steps hummed as Blade climbed them, stopping at the top to scan the booths, stopping once he spied his contact with her head resting on her hand, tapping her fingers with rapid succession on her phone. Silver short hair reflected in the ultraviolet light of the club, pink eyeshadow making her red eyes look less like a facial feature and more of a punky fashion statement combined with the grungy look of her clothes. Her attention only broke from her phone when she heard Blade approaching, putting it back into her pocket as he asked “Mind if I sit?” 

She shrugged, opening her palm to give him the go ahead, his coat rustling as he settled into the booth. “I’d say hi, but after what you told me, I doubt that you’re in the mood for pleasantries,” she folded both her arms on the table.

“Damn right I’m not in the mood,” Blade grumbled “Let’s just cut to the chase Cornelia, what do you know about the attacks?” 

The other vampire hunter rolled her eyes at him, which he didn’t particularly care for but he didn’t call her out for it either “I don’t know any more than you do, aside from the obvious, it’s always homeless people, it’s always done by a group, they always wake up in the hospital afterwards with blood loss but feeling fit as a fiddle,” she reviewed “And if they’re waking up, that means they aren’t dying, and if they’re not dying if it’s a group of people, then these groups are changing them,” and that was the most worrying thing to both of the vampire hunters. Whenever a brood or a clan had struck out like this before, then normally it was for some sort of ritual or hunt in preparation for the next blood moon. However, even those rituals and hunts hadn’t been on the scale of these attacks, as Clans typically kept to one district, not the whole city. 

Blade blinked behind his glasses, though concealed they bore into Cornelia's own "Hmph, would explain the blood farms," and now it was the other hunter's turn to frown. 

"What about them?" Cornelia asked, rotating her forearm to rest her head on her fist. 

"Each one I've hit, it looks like they're packing up operations, or they're running low," The blood farms were most of the clans' primary means of easily attaining blood, by abducting homeless people, prisoners, prostitutes, people that nobody would miss then turning them into glorified blood bags through inducing a never ending coma, then harvesting their blood. Humans had their factories to process food, vampires had theirs, and all Blade could do to help the people once they had been taken and hooked up was pull the plug on the life support systems that enslaved them and let them die with dignity. 

Some clans still hunted for tradition or sport, the blood farms though were the primary means of food production. However he had not heard of any blood shortages and aside from the spike in attacks, no large scale or particularly concerning clan turf wars right now. 

“My guess?” Cornelia began, causing Blade to perk up from where he had been boring his gaze into her skull “Somebody is trying to unite the clans,” 

Blade frowned, if that was true that was bad news, it was always bad news whenever it involved vampires “You don’t think it could be some clan head trying to boost his numbers after one too many purebloods were lost or left?” he asked, having just dealt with a similar situation in Hell’s Kitchen a month ago, where the elder had suddenly died leaving two purebloods to struggle for control of the clan, the elder having named no successor. In the end, they had slaughtered each other and a half-blood had come to power, who bade his followers to go out and create more newborns. However, that still didn't explain the blood farms scaling back their operations, if not halting production entirely.

Cornelia only shook her head “No, these guys are way too organized, not even in the homelands were hunts this organized, and even then they never left their prey alive,” something just wasn’t adding up for Blade, and he squinted behind his glasses. 

“Dracula’s dead, who else could they be organizing under?” He’d heard the old bat had his throat ripped out months ago, and he was the only one the clans universally accepted as their king the world over. Not even Morbius or Baron Blood had the level of respect, fear and power that Dracula had even long after the liege Lord of Transylvania had been sent to hell.

Cornelia sat back, the leather of her jacket squeaking in protest against the seat of the booth as she stretched her arms "Why don't you ask one of them yourself?" She asked, reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a rolled up newspaper, unfolding it and tossing it on the table. The Daily Bugle's logo sat proudly at the top of the page, below that the headline 'Homeless Attacks Continue' with a picture and columns of text beneath it that he began to skim. "This is today's paper, and if the attack was two days ago when they took him to New York General Hospital, it's likely your victim is still there, heck," she shrugged "Maybe one of the Doctors could tell you more, they've been happening so much that this mustn't of been the first one they've seen,"

It wasn't much to go on, but it was a lead nonetheless "You can take that if you want it," Cornelia remarked before Blade could ask "Puzzle was garbage today," she added as he was folding it back up "I would offer to come with you, but a cave troll has decided to make its home under a bridge in Central Park that I've been putting off dealing with today, let me know if you find anything," 

Blade slid out of the booth, thanking Cornelia with a silent nod before walking away again with his hands in his pockets. He would get to New York General Hospital, but on the way, he needed to stop by another Doctor's office to get a second opinion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you guys think! I have never actually written for Blade or read any of his comics, I have seen the movies but that was a long, long time ago. Are you guys vibing with Cornelia? She's an OC I borrowed from a friend with his approval, she's not our main character nor is Blade really but they will be appearing throughout the story so any tips on them both would be really appreciated!


	2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blade has a Doctor's appointment.

“Breathe,” 

She obeyed, air filling her lungs gradually, then leaving after a moment’s pause. 

“Tell me, what do you see?” 

Her eyes were closed, legs crossed with her feet up on her thighs, hands in her lap. Her back was straight, poised with her shoulders squared as she had been instructed. Her breathing remained even, calm, measured. 

“Cereza?” Her master spoke in inquiry, and she answered him. 

“Colours, I see colours, swirling everywhere around me, in front of me, behind me,” Cereza did her best to describe the kaleidoscope happening behind her eyes. Once upon a time, such sights scared her, now they were just another part of her father’s lifestyle she had grown accustomed to. 

She could hear the smile in his voice when he gave her further instructions “Reach out to them, touch one if you can,” his circling footsteps stopped in front of her when her expression soured. 

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea,” 

She could hear his robes rustling, kneeling down to her level “Are you afraid?” 

Cereza shook her head “No, not… afraid, I just- don’t want to get lost,” she was reluctant, and in her mind had every right to be after what happened last time with this little exercise. She had ended up nearly drowning in some icy ocean she didn’t recognize. 

A warm, trembling hand laid itself on her shoulder “You won’t get lost,” he told her “I’m right here, I’ll always guide you back,” her posture relaxed, the reassurance giving her the courage to reach out with her hand between them in the physical world. 

She grabbed the next colourful slither of mystical energy that fluttered by, green tendrils shot out either side of her fist where she had it clasped in her hand. It felt wet, though her hand was dry, cold even in the moderate room she sat in. Cereza winced, at the unpleasant feeling of it squirming and loosened her hold, allowing it to flow through her hand as opposed to the iron grip she had grabbing onto it. 

“Don’t be afraid of it, Cereza, fighting the flow of a river will only make you stagnant, fatigued, or worse - hurt, follow it, surrender to it, let it take you down and show you its abundance,” Her master’s heartening instructions rippled through her soul. She couldn’t quite place her faith within the magic, but she knew she could place it with him. He wouldn’t let her lose herself, he never had, and she knew he never would. 

His other hand caught her body as she slumped forwards a little as her astral projection left her body to comply with his tutelage. The green beam within her hand served as her guide, following it through where it flowed between the different dimensions entirely alien of their own, their own reality nothing but a shadowy echo. Trailing the mystical energy back to the dimension of its origins thankfully this time was a task that held no peril, passing peacefully into an emerald world of endless ruby Redwoods as far as her human eyes could see. One day, she would be able to open up her third eye, and see the great beyond for all its glory. For now, she was a student, answering to her Master’s instructions once more “What do you see?” 

“A forest, a forest of diamonds, where the trees are touching the sky! The wind tastes sour, and smells spicy,” she couldn’t touch anything in her current form, nor did she try as she floated above the jeweled woods. In her wonderment, she had made a mistake, one that, should she have been unsupervised, might have cost her dearly in her clumsiness. Something moved on her chest as she was suddenly thrown back through the rainbow of swirling colours back into her body with a confused scream, concluding when she was hurtled back into her body and fell backwards onto the rug she had been sitting on. Sitting back up, she glared up at Doctor Strange, standing over her with his arms crossed “What gives?! I was there! I was fine! I… I let go didn’t I?” 

He nodded, and Cereza sighed. 

“One day you won’t have to hold on, but until then, you need to make sure you have a way to get back to your body,” Stephen cautioned her, moving to help her stand up “Twenty-four hours outside of your body and you won’t survive,” 

“I know, I didn’t mean to let go,” Cereza sighed, straightening her robes. 

Stephen nonetheless smiled at her, happy with what she had managed to accomplish in their lesson on astral travel “You traveled further than before,” he informed her, which made her eyes widen in surprise. No wonder he was so worried about her not being able to find her way back! “Other than that slip-up, you’ve done well today, I’m proud of you,” 

Cereza beamed “Enough for take-out for dinner tonight?” 

Stephen pouted his lip, making a noise in mock thought as he seemingly considered the idea of a reward “I don’t know… you did let go after all,” 

“Please Daddy!” Cereza asked “Come on! I helped Wong reorganize the section on herbology today, and hit all my targets in practice!” 

“... Pizza Hut good?” Cereza hugged him in response and Stephen chuckled, hugging his daughter back as both went to leave the room “I’ll take that as a yes,” he let go once they got to the hallway “Text your mother, see what she wants, I’ll find Wong and I’ll call them-” 

“I’m afraid that might have to wait, Stephen,” Wong cut him off, his tone suggesting they were about to get down to business “Mister Brooks is waiting for you downstairs,” 

Cereza looked up at Stephen, wondering exactly who that was, and why that name made him frown. As if reading her thoughts, Stephen parted from their half-embrace and nodded for her to follow. She was the apprentice to the Sorcerer Supreme, and that often included sitting in on meetings with his allies, other students of the mystic arts, and rarely the occasional conversation with another Master who wasn’t Wong. Often, that also meant attending to their company too out of politeness, which was how Cereza had learned to brew tea to the perfect blend just the way her father liked it. 

The man who awaited them in the grand foyer reminded Cereza of somebody out of a late nineties action movie, clad in all-leather, armed up to the teeth, and wearing sunglasses indoors. His voice was deeper than the cauldrons they had on either side of the grand staircase as he greeted her father.    
  


“Doctor, it’s been a while,” the man looked from him to Cereza, even though his eyes were concealed, something about his aura just unsettled her. Thankfully her father seemed to sense her discomfort, and placed his hand on her shoulder again “Didn’t know you took on students,” he commented. 

Stephen tilted his head “No, I… normally don’t, she’s the only one though, for now, Cereza, this is Blade,” he introduced “Blade, this is Cereza, she’s my apprentice,” 

Blade smirked “You can’t pull the wool over my eyes, Strange, I can smell her - she’s yours, isn’t she? As if the hair and eyes didn’t already give it away,” 

Cereza’s stomach twisted a little. Ever since the incident, her existence had remained a closely guarded secret. She knew her father had a lot of enemies, enemies that had forced her to leave any hopes of a conventional life behind a long time ago, and once upon a time had forced them apart too. In fact, it was one of the very reasons she was being trained in the mystical arts now, so he could protect her and she could learn how to protect herself.

“I’d rather you’d kept that information a secret, Eric,” Stephen’s eyes narrowed at the man “Else it would be rather inconvenient if you forgot your purpose here,” it was a thinly veiled threat, but after everything that happened that caused the two of them to become master and apprentice, Cereza couldn’t blame her father for wanting to keep the secret of her existence, well, secret. 

“I’ve got no use telling the world about your kid, Strange, no offense- Cereza, was it?” 

She nodded. 

“I’m here on business Strange, wanted to know if you knew anything about this,” Blade held out a newspaper in front of him that Stephen walked up to take from him, reading its headline and scanning through the text of the front page article. 

A frown furrowed her father's eyebrows "Let's discuss this elsewhere," and that was all the warning he gave before he teleported them all in the blink of an eye to the sitting room. He and Blade were sitting in the leather arm chairs in front of the fire, while she stood next to where he was sitting, his eyes still on the article in the paper as he finished reading it. "I've heard the news, however I assume if you are investigating, you believe there is activity of the supernatural kind going on? I will admit this had flown under my radar," he told Blade as he handed Cereza the article to read for herself. The headline made her heart sink, for at the top printed in big bold letters were the words;  **_THE BLOOD SUCKER STRIKES AGAIN!_ **

The article itself went into horrific detail about the murder of several homeless people, all of which had no witnesses, all their bodies found completely devoid of blood. There didn't seem to be any patterns other than that, the homeless all had different reasons for being so- drug use, veterans on hard times, teen runaways, unfortunate souls that were among the most vulnerable of those Cereza had sworn to protect when she had decided to become her father's apprentice. 

"This has the work of the clans written all over it, trouble is, none of them are talking, I spoke to Cornelia earlier, it's… possible they're under new management but she didn't know anything about what's going on, on the inside," Blade informed Stephen, and she could tell by his tone and by the look in her father's eye that was bad news. 

"Who could be governing them if their King is still deceased? I felled him by my own hands, Blade, I would know if he had returned," Stephen leaned forward, hands linking together in contemplation "Are there any others who could have taken up the mantle in his absence?" 

"A few, most of which are still rotting in hell, I haven't been able to get my hands on a body, only way to find a lead is to examine one," Blade tilted his head "I was hoping you could hook me up, your lady- she still works for New York General, doesn't she?" 

Stephen sighed and Cereza chewed on her lip. She knew that her parents had a rule about keeping their work and private lives as separate as they could given their lines of work, and understood her father's reluctance to say yes to getting her mother involved with such a mystery. After a moment of silence, it appeared Stephen was ready to offer a compromise. 

"I will not put Christine in any more danger than she already is by being with me," he told him firmly "That being said, I will help you, but only on my own terms - I will speak with her and see if I could examine one of the victims myself and get back to you," knowing he was a man of his word, Blade knew that was the best answer he was going to get.

"I'll head back to the last crime scene in the meantime, see if anyone knows anything but is too afraid to come forward," Blade informed him as they both stood up "You have my number?"

"I'll be in touch," Stephen assured him, walking the vampire hunter to the front door, and Cereza watched him leave.

"I'll be seeing you, Strange, it was nice meeting you kid," and with that, he left. 

Turning back to her father, Cereza watched as the cloak of levitation was summoned to his shoulders "Cereza, I want you to stay here with Wong, assist him with whatever he needs should he ask, I'll be back shortly," although he sounded confident, as the sparks of a portal opened up a gateway to the closet of the hospital, a sinking feeling in her stomach twisted itself into a knot in her intestines. 

Cereza didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing for Doctor Strange and I hope I did okay! Please let me know what you think in the comments, especially about Cereza, she's my own OC who will be frequently featured. I'm hoping I didn't make her come off as annoying in this, she's only young but I always imagined if you grew up living that lifestyle you wouldn't quite know up from down, either way any feedback is appreciated!


	3. "Accidents" and the Emergency.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our villain makes his entrance... but what does he want?

After reviewing her inventory and determining how much they would need to replenish, Christine was scribbling down orders when the doors to the hospital lobby opened and closed again. Looking up, she saw several men had walked in, and dropping her pen she raised her eyebrow "Can I... help you?" she asked cautiously. It wouldn't be the first time the clinic attracted trouble. Some little hoodlums who wanted to take on heroes sometimes strode in through those doors, and more often than not got kicked right back out of them again “Visiting hours are over,” she advised them, remaining cautious as they approached. In these hours, there was hardly anyone in the lobby, everyone was either in Accident and Emergency or doing their last rounds before the night staff took over.

These men however were different, they didn’t strike her as visitors. Their skin was pale to the point that their veins were practically visible, they were all dressed in nicely tailored suits, mostly black, some had pinstripes or other little customization to them but it looked all the same. She would have guessed they were perhaps a part of the mafia were it not for the skin. Something about it didn't sit well with her. One of the men came up to the counter, gazing down at her with a grin that made Christine's spine shiver "Why yes, we are actually looking for someone, and we think you might be able to lead us to them, Miss Palmer, or..." the man tilted his head "Should I be calling you Mrs. Strange?"

Her hand shot out to try and push the ‘security' button to signal she needed help, but the man was faster, pinning her wrist to the desk. She cried out in pain when he began to painfully squeeze her wrist to the point where she was nigh near sure he would break it "I don't like asking twice, where is Doctor Strange?!" he demanded, finally baring the elongated teeth his kind were so famous for having. 

"Go to hell!" Christine snapped, her free hand darting in front of her to grab the wooden pencil she had just been using and driving it into the vampire's hand. Hissing, he released Christine who reeled back, chair falling out of the way as she scrambled to grab her handbag sitting on the chair she had placed it on, ready to call it for the night. A hand wrapped around her ankle and tried to drag her back out into the lounge area where the other vampires were. She kicked and flailed in the grip of the vampire, losing one of her shoes in the process as she tried to escape his grasp. Reaching up onto the counter top, she grabbed a vase with flowers inside of it sitting on top and smashed it on the Vampire's face. It did nothing but the dust from the porcelain was enough for her to escape once again, getting her bag and pulling out a gun. 

The first shot missed and hit the wall, the second shattering the lamp in the corner of the room, and the third shot going directly into the vampire's chest, blowing a chunk through it. Silver bullets were more effective against Werewolves, but good for putting down any monster. The light flickered and the vampires moved through the shadows, grabbing Christine's hair and roughly yanking it back, sinking their teeth into her shoulder. Christine screamed in pain, blood bubbling around the Vampire's mouth as she struggled, fighting against his strong grip until she was able to put her finger back on the trigger of her gun, firing off a round that blew the vampire's head off, and made her ears ring.

The vampire's lifeless form fell to the side and Christine stood up, discarding the gun that was now out of bullets, looking to the puncture wounds on her shoulder where blood now welled up and dribbled out, staining her uniform. Looking to the lounge, she didn't quite believe her eyes when she saw a crowd of more vampires standing there. Where was security? In fact, where was everyone else?! Her skin felt ungodly warm, sensitive to the touch. Mustering the last of her strength she picked up the chair she had fallen out of and thrust it whenever any of them tried to come close "Get back!" she ordered weakly, her voice trembling "Get away! Ah!" her arms were pinned behind her back by one vampire and another one helped hold her steady, how were they able to move so fast?! "Let go of me! Let me go!" she shuddered as she felt one run their tongue along her jugular to the wound where the last vampire had bitten her. The other one burying their nose into her hair and taking a deep whiff.

"Now why would we let a lovely thing such as you go?" One practically purred into her ear making Christine want to throw up at those words "We only wanted to have a... little talk with your husband," Christine didn't need to hear them sneering to know they were smirking as a hand ran its way down her side "My, my... Stephen Strange is a lucky man indeed, to have this all to himself," she was breathing through her teeth to try and cope with the pain when she felt something sharp pierce her thigh, breaking her focus on blocking out the pain. Looking down she saw another one of the bloodsuckers feeding off of her thigh, gazing up at her like he wanted to devour her. 

A loud hiss from the shadows caused the vampires attacking and attempting to feed on Christine Strange to back off, including the one feeding on her thigh.

"Forgive my servants, Mrs. Strange." A man stepped out of the shadows, his crimson orbs glinting dangerously from the darkness. He revealed himself to Christine, stepping out of the shadows in a black tailored-made suit that complimented his inhumanly athletic physique. His hair was golden blonde with fair skin and a handsome clean shaven face. He loomed over Christine as a predator would its prey, and offered her an empty smile. "It is quite difficult for them to overcome their Thirst for such... exquisite blood such as yours.”

He knelt down beside her suddenly and his eyes locked with hers, glowing unnaturally.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Xarus, Lord of Vampires." His voice was smooth as silk, his eyes mesmerizing, his fangs sharper than a knife's edge as he opened his mouth and licked his lips. He grabbed Christine by her chin. "And you, Mrs. Strange, shall answer all of my questions."

He embraced Christine and silently sunk his fangs into her neck, and began to feed. Not enough to kill her, but enough to weaken and bend her to his will. 

Gazing into Xarus' eyes was the biggest mistake Christine had ever made. For now, she found herself ensnared in his gaze, unable to look away or even blink. The only thing she could focus on was her breathing, and even that felt like a monumental task. All she wanted to do was just to sleep, every fiber in her body just wanted to rest, the screaming voice of protest in her mind became quiet.

She held onto the vampire Lord's shoulders as if clinging for dear life. Only flinching slightly when he sank his fangs into her neck, she rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him easier access. Christine at this point was fighting a losing battle to keep her eyes open, and with her last ounce of strength, she pressed her thumb to her ring finger, just below where her wedding ring sat, pushing it until it fell off.

All Christine could do was hope that it would be enough to find her, and then, everything, turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! First action scene! How did I do? Please let me know! I'm not all that comfortable with writing them as you could probably tell, plus I didn't want Christine to just go down without a fight... even if that fight was really one sided from the get-go. Either way, all feedback is welcomed as always!


	4. Dinner with the Fosters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vithar and Fenris Foster are settling in for dinner when destiny comes knocking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is a bit of a slow burn.

A drop of water rolled along the chilled condensation of stainless steel, refracting the light bounced around by white bathroom tiles gleaming from the ivory light fixture, trapped inside of plastic casing on the ceiling. Minty freshness of recently used toothpaste was delicate compared to the near overwhelming aroma of wild spice emanating from the well-used can of body spray that sat pompously on the shelf next to the sink. The drop bounced up and down, morphing into the surface of the jet of the spout, finally giving up and racing down into the sink basin where it’s descent into white void was interrupted by a pink knuckle gripping the handle of a men’s razor. 

A long, steady breath eased its way out of young Vithar Foster’s throat, steadying his hand, strengthening his resolve, trying to summon the courage to go through with what he was about to do. Tilting his head to the side, he brought the razor up, and squished the foam on his face as he brought it down, leaving baby smooth skin in its wake. He didn’t want to shave his beard off, in fact he was quite proud he could grow one at his age, but he would never forget the humiliation of being dragged up to the front of his class by his principal as a prime example as what their dress code forbade in facial hair. He, or rather, his beard, was the envy of his classmates and the bane of his school’s dress code. His beard was actually one of the few things that his brother never really made fun of him for, as much as he made fun of his brother’s apparent lack of an ability to even grow one. That was probably why he suggested just trimming it, rather than getting rid of it, the only reason he was getting rid of it entirely was for his Mum. He knew she had better things to be doing than being called in by his school to talk about his dress code, therefore, the beard, sadly, had to go. 

The razor snagged on his cupid’s bow, Vithar hissed and dropped the razor, letting it clatter into the sink as he bent closer to the mirror to see the cut. “Great,” he grumbled “Just great,” now instead of his beautiful beard, he’d have an annoyingly small cut just above his lip. That wouldn’t be irritating at all while he was eating, or drinking, or talking. 

“I honestly don’t understand why you insist on shaving the whole thing off,” Vithar jumped at his brother’s voice, and his expression soured seeing the stupid smirk on Fenris’ beardless face “A bushy beard beats having a scar, wouldn’t you say so?” 

Vithar turned his attention back to his task in the mirror, wiping away the shaving cream from the cut so it wouldn’t be inflamed “You know why I’m doing it, I can’t get in trouble again or they’ll tell Mum to come in,” after patting away at the cut with a tiny, torn piece of toilet paper, he added “Besides, one of these days, they’ll come after you for those arms and legs,” 

Fenris chauffed “Nothing in the dress code requires us to shave our arms or legs, besides, I don’t smell,” 

Vithar rolled his eyes, Fenris had a sensitive nose for as long as he could remember. He couldn’t even make toast without his older brother complaining about the smell of bread being burnt, just because he preferred it a little more on the crispy side “Yeah well, not everyone has your nose,” he rebuffed, but his comment did nothing to wipe the smug look off Fenris’ face “Are you just here to make fun of me or do you want something? The Switch is in my room but its charging so you’ll have to wait if you want it,” 

Fenris inhaled sharply and pushed himself off of the door frame from where he had been leaning “Actually, Mother called, said she won’t be home for dinner, I was going to make some meatballs and wondered if you wanted some? Swedish style, of course,” 

Although he was tempted to ask whether he was trying to prank him by putting laxatives in his food, again, Vithar had to admit Swedish meatballs sounded really good for dinner. As sensitive as his brother’s nose was, it did also serve to make him a brilliant chef. “That… sounds great Fenris, yeah, I’ll have some too,” he answered, yet couldn’t help but ask “How come Mum won’t be home until late? Some big discovery came up or something?” 

Now his brother’s posture softened in uncertainty “She… didn’t actually say, only not to wait up for us, I suspect we shall be getting a visit from Darcy to check up on us,” and that thought alone just made Vithar groan. 

“Why can’t she just trust us to be on our own for a night? Why does she always have to send her to check up on us? We’re not babies! I mean- I’m shaving for goodness sake!” Vithar moaned. He didn’t have anything against Darcy, or any of his mother’s co-workers, it just felt belittling that they still had to have babysitters or people checking on them. 

“Shaving isn’t an indication of manhood, Vithar,” Fenris chided “I had to start shaving when I was ten,” he reminded him. 

“Yeah, shaving your back hair because you smelled so bad,” Vithar jabbed and Fenris bristled. 

“I did not smell, it was itchy,” Fenris growled, and now it was Vithar’s turn to smirk. 

“You know they say that if you smell so bad after so long you stop smelling it yourself,” 

“You want dinner or not?” 

Vithar rolled his eyes, resigning himself “Yeah, yeah, just let me finish up and I’ll come set the table,” he didn’t see Fenris leave, but he heard his footsteps down the hall as he went back to shaving. By the time he was done, he was mostly smooth, the razor had caught in two more places and he had blotted the blood with more tissue paper before applying his aftershave to soothe the screaming red patches of skin, desperate for moisture after being stripped of it by the razor. 

Exiting the bathroom, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, following the smell of meatballs to the kitchen-diner. It looked like Fenris was nearly done as the timer on the oven blared and he watched his brother dart to turn down the heat. Grabbing mats and cutlery, he left the plates to Fenris as he set the table. He paused when he saw his beardless face in the reflection of the spoon in his hand, and wondered if perhaps he should have cut his hair too, as now without the beard he looked less like the vikings in his history textbooks and more like the surfers he saw last time he, Fenris and their mother had seen in Florida on their Spring Break. 

“Don’t be too down, brother,” Fenris’ voice made him look up, how had he gotten there so fast without him hearing his footsteps? Were the meatballs already done? “It’s done now, you can always grow it back in the summer,” 

He sighed “Yeah, I guess… is dinner ready?” 

Fenris rolled his eyes “I try to be nice, and you think with your stomach, yes, its ready, get the napkins and sit down,” even if Fenris was trying to be nice, it still sounded like an order to Vithar, nonetheless he did as his brother said knowing it would result in being able to finally eat some delicious, Swedish meatballs. 

The way the brothers ate couldn’t of been more different, with Vithar tucking into his meal like a starved barbarian after returning home from a hunt, and Fenris sitting bolt upright in his chair, making sure to meticulously cut down his food into smaller sizes to lessen the chances of choking. It was one of the many things that made Vithar question if they were even related at all, since Fenris looked absolutely nothing like him. Vithar’s skin was slightly more tan than Fenris’ milky white, and where he had blonde hair and his mother’s eyes, Fenris had jet black, coarse hair with eyes that made emeralds jealous. He wouldn’t exactly describe his brother as an ape, but even Vithar found it odd just how hairy his brother’s forearms were, despite the inability to grow facial hair. Fenris was certainly a lot taller than him, and definately trim where Vithar was more stocky. Their hobbies too, were the direct opposites of each other, Vithar loved playing sports whereas Fenris, while no slob, certainly preferred a good book over running at somebody with his full speed and strength to get a ball. When it came to music, Vithar loved to crank up the volume on his headphones, whereas Fenris tended to shy away from loud noises. During thunderstorms, where Vithar would often stay at the window to watch them, Fenris would be as far away from the windows as possible. Vithar also noticed he tended to get shocked a lot more by static than Fenris did, but he just put that down to wearing a lot more wool than his brother. 

Rain started to splash against the windows, getting Vithar’s attention as he watched the storm, setting his fork down. 

“Are you done?” 

“Huh?” Vithar’s head whipped around back to Fenris, he blinked, processing what he had asked “Oh, yeah,” he helped his brother to pack the dishes into the dishwasher before going to watch the storm. 

“You know, one of these days a bolt of lightning is going to come right through that window and hit you if you keep sitting and watching them like that,” Fenris chided and Vithar just sneered, shaking his head. Fenris might have been afraid, but he never was, a little rain never hurt anyone after all “Anyway, lets just hope that the power-” before Fenris could even finish what he was saying, the power went out. He sighed “...Why do I even bother?” he mumbled “I’ll check the fuse box, last thing we need is for that to have blown, while Mother isn’t here,” 

“Uh Fenris? You might wanna come see this!” Vithar called out from the window, and Fenris emerged from the hallway once more to see his brother frozen stiff by the window. Frowning, he went to take a look at what his brother was seeing, and peered up at the sky where his brother had been watching the storm. 

Darkness seeped through the stormy sky, the clouds racing against the black, lightning piercing through it but soon flooding through the cracks it carved. The rain came down harder, and the thunder that followed made the whole house tremble. Fenris didn’t quite understand what he was seeing, only that something in his senses told him to get away from the window. Grabbing his brother’s arm, he hauled him away from the window, throwing him to the floor. 

Vithar hit his head and made a noise of pain, his hand coming to the back of his head “Fenris-? What the hell?!” 

Fenris didn’t answer as he suddenly hit the floor, the thunder cracking with the force of a sonic boom, shattering the glass of the windows of their house. The wind ripped the curtains off of the pole, sending them flying through the dining room along with the vase on the table, smashing against the back wall. Fenris wrapped himself around his younger brother tightly, shielding him from the chaos and destruction when the wind suddenly became sour, and the air still, the devastation over as quickly as it had started. 

“You… You alright?” Fenris asked Vithar, and his little brother nodded, the two unwrapping themselves from one another and crawling over to the window to get a look outside, expecting to see the other houses on their street in the same condition as theirs. 

What they hadn’t expected to see, however, was a tall man with long blonde hair wielding an axe that looked impossible to lift with its bulk, standing over a pale, bald, white man in black robes. There was shouting, Fenris didn’t really care to listen to what about, only that the man didn’t come their way. That was until he caught a whiff of the man’s scent, and saw the red cloak. The shouting match between the two men was over when a bolt of lightning hit the man on the ground, and he screamed in pain, but instead of slumping over, his skin flaked away and he dissolved into the wind, gone without a trace. 

The man’s heavy footsteps were just as sonorous as the thunder in the skies, and Fenris slowly stood up, Vithar reluctantly following him up to see the man walking over to them. A man they had never met, but they both knew “Th-Thor?!” Vithar squeaked in excitement, his eyes lighting up as his favorite superhero stood before both him and his brother “Y-You’re Thor right?!” 

Thor looked as if he were in shock, or that he was trying to find what words to say “Yes, I am Thor,” he suddenly chuckled “God of Thunder, as you ah- saw, sorry about the house by the way, I didn’t mean for things to get out of hand- Look, your mother sent me to check on you both,” 

Fenris looked a little weary of the Avenger “Mother, sent you? Why?” 

Thor once again looked at a loss for word, only now he looked pained, and with a sigh, he finally admitted “Because I wanted to see my sons.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of my little story so far!


	5. Underground showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky recall the day their lives changed forever...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised Stucky in the tags, and I hope this delivers!

_ Eight years ago… _

The HYDRA facility had been discovered nearly on accident on another recon mission to the Swiss Alps where it was believed the criminal organization had been smuggling arms through the mountains. Tracking a shipment back had led them to two places, the processing plant that the remnants of SHIELD took down last week, and this unknown facility that had been uncovered in the ledger. Kicking the grate off of a vent, Bucky crawled out and pointed his rifle down the hallway, and looked in the other "All clear!" he called out, lowering his gun. 

Steve had followed out behind Bucky before taking the shield off of his back and connecting it with the magnetic technology on his arm. He didn’t know if they would find what they were looking for in this unknown facility that was only recently discovered but they were called to search it out anyways after it had been on the radar. The ledger had spoken of some sort of ‘superweapon’ but as both Captain America and the Winter Soldier had found in their line of duty, that could mean anything. Normally it was some sort of big gun or weapon of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons, reverse engineered Chitari technology, and one time a kind of Asgardian mining drill that had been outfitted into a laser. The one thing Steve hoped it wouldn’t be was anything to do with magic, they didn’t have anyone with that sort of expertise on his team. Bucky had bet five bucks it was some sort of new poison gas, due to the fact it had been a while since they had seen that particular kind of weapon, and knew how much HYDRA loved their silent but deadly weapons. 

Several SHIELD agents had crawled out after him; a new strike team after what happened with Brock Rumlow. “Everyone, be careful, we don’t know what could be down here. I want a search of the entire area as soon as we know all of it is clear and not just this one spot. Is that understood?” 

“Yes sir!” 

“Affirmative!” 

“Copy that!” 

"I'll take the left, you take the right," Bucky told Steve, pointing at several of their men and motioning for them all to follow in one direction whilst Steve could have the other half of the group. 

At the end of each hallway was a door, one that Bucky wasted no time in kicking in, and his new unit poured in after him. Only the room they found wasn't another lab like they had been traversing or some kind of hangar which they had used as their infiltration point, it was a surveillance room. There was a great wall of cameras, and several shelves of disks behind them, all with marked dates and filed accordingly. Putting his weapon on his back again, he ordered "Sweep the place, and stand guard, I wanna take a closer look at this," 

Putting in one of the disks into the computer, the camera feed showed something that Bucky had to do a double take on. Movement caught his eye on another one of the monitors, and he looked over to see Steve in the hallway, having stumbled onto what looked like a small cell block. Hoping to god that what he had seen on that disk had been a mistake, he switched the feed to inside the only locked cell, and his stomach dropped in horror. 

"Steve?" he spoke on the private channel "There’s kids in this facility,” 

“There’s what?” Bucky didn’t blame Steve for second-guessing him. There couldn’t be children here. Scratch that-there shouldn’t be any children here! The facility specialized on weapons and weapons alone, recon had told them as much, same with the ledgers they had been able to nab from other facilities getting supplies from this one. Bucky wouldn’t put it past HYDRA to be experimenting on children, but that revelation stunned both him and Steve. His eyes didn’t lie though, on the screen, was a little blonde boy sitting shivering in the corner in a little white hospital gown. It was below zero outside, and even inside the air was crispy, Bucky could see his breath leave his mouth. He, Steve and the others were fine, they all were wearing tactical gear, but that little didn’t even have anything on his feet… 

"Unless my eyes are playin' tricks on me, you heard me the first time," Bucky told Steve as he continued to gaze into the monitor displaying what appeared to be two children huddled together in the corner of a cell "They're in Cell 2, there should be 5, the rest are empty," they hadn't anticipated this, but Bucky would take this over giant squids, vampires or gas that melted your skin off any day of the week.

“I’m on it,” Steve reported back to Bucky, and made his way, alone, down the cells, stopping at the second one in the row. He placed his boot on the door, ready to kick it down, when he paused to look at his shield still sitting on his arm to reconsider his approach. Imagine if you had been stuck in a cell most of your life as a child, Steve thought, and you saw a man standing before you in a suit with a helmet on and a shield attached to his arm like he was going to strike at you. It would probably scare everything out of you, especially if you were just a child. 

He took his foot off the door, and put his shield on his back, slowly turning the lock to open the door. He gently pushed it open, the heavy metal creaking under its own weight, rust grinding in its hinges, revealing the little boy sitting in the far corner of the cell. His legs were drawn up to her chin, his arms wrapped tightly around them, trying to conserve his warmth. His mousey blonde hair reminded him of… well, himself, when he would huddle himself into a ball under his bedsheets when the heating went out at his mother’s apartment in brooklyn when he was just a kid. Steve reported back to Bucky again “Buck… I found the kid-” 

A feral cry sounded from behind Steve and before he even had a chance to get his shield off his back, someone jumped on his back, their legs wrapped tightly around his midsection, clawing, biting, scratching at whatever they could. His suit protected him, and he roughly pulled them off of him and blinked seeing his would be assailant. He blinked, as it took him a moment to process he was holding a little girl at arm's length. She snarled, kicking her little legs out trying to hit him in the stomach and coming nowhere near close to their target. She was squirming so much that Steve struggled to maintain a grip on her, until she twisted herself free and he released her. The little girl ran to the boy, pulling him into her arms, positioning herself between the boy and Steve. Her mop of brown hair was short, just reaching her shoulders, and just like the boy she seemed so eager to protect, looked underfed and pale, Steve could only wonder if the children had ever been allowed outside as their skin looked whiter than the snow that had been falling when they had been en-route to the facility. Steve caught a glimpse of the girl’s eyes when she looked up to check if he had moved, and was struck with a sense of deja vu. He had seen those eyes before, he knew those eyes all too well, they had haunted him for years. The little girl’s eyes were the exact same as Bucky’s, in fact, everything about her, this whole situation, reminded Steve of him and Bucky when they had been kids. Just what exactly had HYDRA been up to in this facility? As far as he and Bucky both knew, neither of them had children, and kept a pretty close tab on all the people they had been with in the past, there just wasn’t any way he and Bucky, both, could of had children they didn’t know about, that HYDRA had kept here. All Steve knew was that he had to get them both out of here, after all, they still didn’t know if the facility was empty or not. 

He heard Bucky’s voice crackle through the communications link again “You have any rations on you? They look starved, might get the girl to ease up a bit too, she must of hidden in a blind sport I didn’t even see her on my end,” 

Steve searched the pouches of his belt, and pulled out a protein bar. It wasn’t much, but you never knew when a mission could turn into a stake out, or when situations like this could arise. He ripped the wrapper open, and crouched down, offering it to them in his outstretched hand. 

The snack didn't appear to be anything more than a fruit and nut bar, but it was enough to garner the curiosity of the girl who briefly left the boy's side again, much like a frightened animal, she examined it before snatching it, scrambling back to the boy. She sniffed it, then licked it with her tongue, smacking her lips together several times as if she were checking it for something. The girl however, didn’t take a single bite, she just broke off the end for herself then handed the rest of the bar to the boy. They both still were cautious of Steve, but they seemed to have calmed down a little as they munched on the protein bar. 

Bucky’s voice chimed in again “Medical will be waiting for them once we get back to check them over once we’re done here,” 

“Okay just… Take your time Bucky, I’ll see if I can work something out down here without backup,” Steve really didn’t want to move children with force, god knows they had been through enough already, and he made sure to keep his voice quiet to not disturb them as they ate. 

That was when he noticed the girl staring at him again, this time in wonderment, perhaps with the same deja vu he had when first coming into the room. Then, her eyes sharpened into razors as another shadow mingled with Steve’s. 

" _ Einfrieren _ !" The HYDRA soldier screamed, cocking his gun and pointing it directly at the back of Steve's neck. Before either the Captain or the HYDRA soldier had the chance to respond, the little girl sprinted across the room and, using Steve's shoulder as leverage, jumped onto the HYDRA soldier. The man cursed in German, shooting blindly trying to get her off of him, slamming into the concrete wall of the hallway trying to get her down. The boy went back further into the corner as if he was trying to hide himself from the German. Steve had immediately snapped out of his shock when he started shooting blindly and quickly rushed to get the girl off of him before she ended up getting herself shot. He ripped the gun from the soldier’s hands, throwing it into the wall to which it clattered loudly on the floor next to the boy. 

Steve then quickly snatched the girl off of the soldier and landed a solid kick into his chest, causing him to be thrown against the wall just like the gun was except the wall, the man making a crater in the wall with the sheer force Captain America had used in his kick. 

“Bucky, there’s soldiers still here! Tell everyone to get out, I’m going to come up there with these two!” He couldn’t risk a full operation to go belly-up because he had no idea how many soldiers were still in the compound, and with two children in hand it would be highly difficult if a shootout took place.

"Reinforcements! Watch out!" Bucky called out "I think our comms might be being jammed!" 

The soldier groaned, reaching for his radio, but a gunshot rang out before he could ever call it in. The girl stood there, holding his weapon as if it were merely an extension of her arm before immediately trying to take the boy's hand, making urgent noises as she tried to pull him to his feet. It seemed like she knew they couldn't wait around, although it was quite disturbing with how at ease she had been putting a bullet inside the head of a fully grown and armored man.

Ignoring the fact that she had just committed murder, Steve scooped her up onto one of his arms and took the boy into the other before running out of the cell only to be met by some of the task force that had went with him and heard the commotion from the hallway over and scrambled over to help. 

“We’ve got what we need, let’s go!” He announced after running by them to which they all had followed soon after. Steve had made his way back to the surveillance room where he hoped that Bucky was still at and not having to deal with HYDRA soldiers that seemingly came out of nowhere. 

By the time Steve had arrived it appeared whatever reinforcements had been called in, Bucky's team had already dealt with, as they were quickly converting the room for their own purposes to use it against the rest of the compound, giving their back up teams easier access as they came in from the front, starting to sweep the ground floors of the facility. 

"Steve," The Sergeant greeted, before looking at the children "Anyone got any food?!" Bucky called out to the rest of his team and one of the larger members handed him a protein bar, which he gave to the boy "You might wanna take a look at this..." he said, going back over to the computer monitor, and loading up one of the older feeds.

"Experiment number 22407, Project Les Enfant Terribles, out of the successful 27 replicates since starting this project, we have successfully narrowed down the test subjects to just two - TS-146 and W-2986," A German man spoke through the speakers, the footage showing what appeared to be the girl, in a room with four soldiers, as soon as one made his move the girl made hers, using him as a meat shield before taking his own gun to take out the rest before it switched to show the boy incapacitating some kind of large armored machine, climbing atop it and punching in the glass of the cockpit to rip the pilot out.

The camera feed switched to show TS-146 alone, in a room, repeatedly stabbing her hand with a fork. Blood would well up for a few moments before it would just disappear again, the wound sealing itself almost instantly "Although TS-146 has lately showed signs of depression, an unstable soldier makes for an unpredictable one, we have temporarily allowed TS-146 and W-2986 to share accommodations, as the two seemed to have formed some kind of bond to each other, particularly on the part of TS-146, we will continue to monitor the situation and separate them when needed," 

Just hearing what had happened to them on the footage made Steve’s blood boil, and he tried his best not to show it. He was always against abuse and this was just...overboard for HYDRA. But they carried it on like it was nothing. As long as they weren’t the ones being harmed, they were fine and continued to let it happen for the sake of creating new weapons by using children. 

It was sick. 

“I’ll… Look at the rest later.” Steve said, after taking the hard drive out from the computer monitor and stashing it in a pouch on his belt. He couldn’t watch any of the footage here. It made him feel nauseous and unclean like he needed a shower desperately. He also felt like that they shouldn’t watch it especially since the children were there with them in the same room and could more than likely hear everything being played from the security camera footage. 

“Right now...we just need to focus on getting everyone out alive and in one piece, we have what we need and we can send another task force in to come and secure the facility later.”

"Agreed," Bucky went over to where he had leaned his rifle up against the desk and took it "Only question is, how are we gonna get the kids out of here without putting them in a firefight? HYDRA isn't gonna give up their little science project easily," he looked over at the two children in question who were munching on the second protein bar. 

"We'll figure it out. I can carry them outside and make sure they get to safety before we do anything else if that's an option." He couldn't actually fight with the children in his arms but he could give them some form of protection by taking most of the hits if it were required. Sure, he would end up injured, when it came to children though, that was a risk and a sacrifice he was willing to make. 

Looking down at the two, after seeing all the footage he had, somehow Bucky got the feeling they would be just fine during a firefight. However, that did not mean to say he wished for that to happen "You take one, I'll take the other," he told Steve, not wanting to leave his friend open and vulnerable "I think they're just as eager to get outta here as we are,"

“Alright. I’ll take the boy then.” Steve announced before handing the girl over to Bucky when he was ready to take her. The boy had shifted himself around in his arms when the girl had left him, and now leaned up against Steve more, grasping ahold of the straps on his suit as if he were afraid that the bigger male would drop him. 

Meanwhile, Bucky scooped up the little girl using his metal arm, keeping his palm around the back of her bony knees so she could nestle up to him and protect herself from the cold a little more. With his free arm, he held his rifle, and looked over at Steve “You ready?” 

Nodding curtly, Steve answered “Let’s get outta here,” 

By the time the two super soldiers got outside, there was an all out gunfight going on between HYDRA's forces, and the combined forces of the Swiss Military and SHIELD, with the Winter Soldier and Captain America right in the middle of it all. The little girl was tired, but she forced herself to keep her eyes open, to watch as the people who she had known and tormented her for years fell down.

The fog in the forest along with the cloudy grey sky made visibility poor, but she didn't need it to see, she could hear them all. 

"We gotta make it out of the courtyard!" Bucky called out to Steve as he ducked down behind cover, pulling a grenade off of his belt, yanking the pin out with his teeth before tossing it. The explosion went off nearby, and sent snow everywhere. 

Steve held up his shield to cover the boy in case debris flew over from the grenade Bucky had thrown as he continued to run through the forest, dodging bullets that whizzed by them at an alarming speed. The courtyard was something that they should be able to run through quickly with no casualties but because of the children, they all had to take their time to make sure they weren't shot.

"We can't get out unless we reduce the amount of HYDRA soldiers! They'll keep shooting at us until we're dead!" Steve had called back as he took cover behind a tree to avoid being shot in the head by a bullet that had missed him by just an inch, scrambling to move the boy with him. 

The girl tugged on Bucky’s sleeve, and made a fussing noise, trying to get his attention. Initially he ignored her, just trying to keep her behind cover, until she did something that definitely got his undivided attention. She bit Bucky’s ear, hard. 

“Ow!” He dropped her and glared “Kid are you trying to get yourself killed?!” 

She made a noise, and pointed frantically with her finger. Bucky looked to where she was pointing, seeing a blue tarp that was practically buried in snow, yet sticking out underneath it, was a wheel. 

“Steve!” Bucky called out “I have an idea!” 

Steve hugged the boy closer to him, he didn’t know if the boy was trembling because of the cold of if he was scared, but he found himself nonetheless shushing him and whispering “It’s okay, you’re gonna be fine,” over and over until he heard Bucky over the gunfire again. He was all ears just for anything right about now. 

When he heard the fury of a diesel engine roaring followed by snow crunching and rapid gunfire, Steve had to admit, he hadn’t quite expected that Bucky’s idea would be to acquire a machine gun mounted on a jeep. Steve could see the little girl huddled down in the front passenger side seat, and knowing this was their chance to escape and clear out the last of the HYDRA soldiers, Steve held the little boy close and ran with his shield to get behind the wheel of the jeep while Bucky still fired. 

“Take him!” Steve ordered the little girl, and the boy joined her down on the passenger side floor. Shifting the old engine into gear, he sped off with Bucky providing cover fire on top, doing laps around the courtyard, running over some soldiers while Bucky finished off the rest with the mounted gun. 

Finally, their jam on their communications lifted, and both Steve and Bucky were able to contact their own reinforcements along with an evacuation helicopter that took all four of them out of there while the Military and SHIELD took over the clean up operation. 

When they finally made it back home, Steve and Bucky’s suspicions about the children had been confirmed with all the tapes they had secured from the surveillance room. HYDRA agents had trailed after the two of them for months, scraping together any trace of DNA they could from the two of them in order to clone them both, or as Bucky had remarked “Figures they’d stop trying to make the serum, and just try to make evil versions of us.” 

There had been fifty two clones in total, some had been confirmed dead, others missing, or transfered to other locations. The clones were not one hundred percent perfect, as they had found out the little girl was a clone of Bucky, meaning something had happened in her development process where she emerged as female rather than male, additionally they had learned some clones came out sexless, or as hermaphrodites which HYDRA had been quick to terminate. Interestingly the clones had normally been living together in pairs, normally a Bucky clone and a Steve clone, rather than two of the same template living together. Steve wondered if this was some sort of echo the clones felt of his and Bucky’s bond, as the two they had rescued certainly displayed the same behavior of protecting one another. When he and Bucky had been summoned to a meeting about what to do with the children, it was there he had realized that not only did the children need to be protected, but they needed to be kept an eye on, separating them into different foster families sounded like a horrible idea which was why he and Bucky afterwards had a very, very long talk

In the end, they had both decided to formally adopt the clones as their own. Bucky adopted the little girl as his own daughter, as technically she sort of was, and named her Texas Barnes. Steve had done the same to his clone, formally adopting the little boy as his own son, and naming him Washington Rogers. 

Using Steve’s sizable savings from his seventy years worth of back-pay, and Bucky’s rather questionable persuasion tactics, the two had managed to secure a three bedroom house in Brooklyn with a decently sized backyard. Texas and Washington had their own separate rooms, while Steve and Bucky just roomed together like they had done before. Schooling had been a bit of an issue initially, as they had tried homeschooling but after a while, they had mutually agreed to try both of them in public school to allow them to develop some social skills and interact with other kids their age. Even if that meant the occasional parent-teacher meeting where one of them had to go and listen to the principle about Texas bringing in some sort of sharp object to school, or worse, making one. Washington for the most part seemed a little more well-adjusted than his would-be sister, he wasn’t the brightest spark but Steve could definitely see himself in the boy. Texas however, struggled quite a bit with her identity. She was, in all essence, Bucky. Right down to her DNA, except for the fact she wasn’t Bucky, and she was a girl. Neither super soldier was quite prepared to deal with children initially, let alone one going through a gender-identity crisis. They had tried buying her dresses, but she felt miserable in them when compared to other, more stereotypically boyish clothes that for her were comfier. Initially Steve had just been cutting Texas’ hair short as it was easier to maintain, but he could tell she didn’t like how boyish it looked, especially when he had caught her staring at the other girls after school with long hair. So he had resigned himself to learning the intricacies of hair styling while encouraging Texas to grow it out, with Bucky showing her how to care for it. 

Parenthood had not been something neither Steve or Bucky had prepared for being an outcome of that mission eight years ago, but now, as bizarre, and quite little their family was, Steve had to admit he enjoyed coming home to a domestic life with Bucky, to their kids, to their little house in Brooklyn. The only thing that still weirded him out, was how Texas would address them both. Despite what the courts had said, despite what she had been informed to call them by social workers and therapists, Texas didn’t refer to either him or Bucky as any sort of parental title. She called them either by their first names, their alias’, or even worse…

‘Template’. 

It made Steve feel sick, it made Bucky angry, and Texas only ever said it in dismissal, but they knew that’s what HYDRA had trained her to think of them as, just templates, sperm donors, nothing more, nothing less. It just proved to Bucky that no matter how hard you tried to distance yourself from them, HYDRA always left their mark, physical or mental. Nonetheless they knew Texas was capable of taking care of both herself and her brother, and she mostly kept to herself when in public too, far too wrapped up in the world of music Steve had introduced her to through her phone and her headphones. 

Eight years later, that was where Texas found herself now. The New York Subway wasn’t so bad once she plugged her headphones into the AUX of her phone and tuned out the noise around her. She’d memorized her stop, she didn’t need to hear the announcement, nor did she want to if it meant turning off the track that she bobbed her head subtly along to. 

She rolled the cherry flavoured lollipop back and forth on her tongue in her mouth, scrolling through her messages as the music continued to play. The train rattled from side to side and she reached up to grab a handle to hold onto when Bucky messaged her. 

_ Where are you? - xDadx _

She frowned at the name. 

_ When did you put that as your name? - TB _

Bucky typed back.

_ When Steve and I went and got your last phone upgraded, anyway, where are you? - xDadx _

_ Train, just pulled out of 8 Street, why? - TB _

_ Get off at the next stop, I’ll pick you up - xDadx _

_...Why? - TB _

_ Just do it, I’m on my way now - xDadx _

_ Okay… - TB _

The train suddenly rattled and the carriage shook violently, and everyone inside could hear the sound of brakes screeching along with the screaming coming from further up the train. It was enough for Texas to move one of her earphones off of her ear so she could hear the commotion going on. Looking to the door of the next carriage, she saw the blood being flung around like paint, and the body of a headless man being thrown up against the doors. That nearly made her drop the lollipop out of her mouth, and when she saw the creature responsible she scowled as the crowd began to scramble back towards the emergency exits. It had no skin, only muscle, its brain exposed under a thin clear membrane, crawling around on all fours, teeth just as long and sharp as its claws. She could see the blood running through its veins, weaving in and out of muscle fibers like oil greasing a machine. 

So... this thing was the reason why her train had been delayed. Ugly, Texas would admit. Another one dropped down from the ceiling and a third climbed up out from the grate in the floor of the train, hissing at Texas as they surrounded her, stalking her in a circle. She shifted her lollipop to the other side of her mouth and cranked up the volume on her headphones as she waited for the houls to make the first move.

Hurtling towards her, one of the Ghouls opened its gaping jaws and that, was when Texas made her move, pulling her whole body up using the handle on the train so that the Ghoul crashed into the wall behind her, before she stomped on its head, staining the white wall red. The scent of blood triggered the next attack of the second Ghoul, and Texas countered with another swift kick to the head, letting go of the handle and using the momentum to deliver another kick to its spine. Curb-stomping the monster, then punching it in the back of the skull, just to make sure it would stay down.

The third Ghoul wrapped its tongue around her wrist, yanking her off of its brethren and dragging her back a little, her boots squeaking in protest on the rubber floor. Wrapping her hand around its tongue, she decided to turn the tides by yanking it forwards, yanking the knife out she kept hidden in her boot she charged at the ghoul, slashing it in the chest and slicing its rubbery tongue off, falling to the floor. Smirking at defeating the Ghouls so easily, Texas allowed herself a long suck on her lollipop, until she was suddenly slashed across the back and fell to the ground. The lollipop fell out of her mouth and her headphones fell off of her head, her backpack falling off of one shoulder too. She turned over just in time to grab the creature by the shoulder and stop it from chewing her face off, its saliva flying everywhere as it snapped its jaws like a rabid dog. Switching to hold it back by her forearm, she desperately reached for her knife, her fingertip only managing to graze the blade.

Suddenly Texas' gaze snapped to her backpack and she lunged at it, the monster going after her, and she practically tore the zip open, her hand diving in and yanking out an M9 from the very bottom of it. She wasn't supposed to have it, but she only hoped Bucky would forgive her for 'borrowing' it as she shot two rounds into the creature's head, then kicked it away. When she stood up again, she saw the other two ghouls had risen again with her. Then, from behind her she heard more hissing, only to see more of those... things from the cart behind her having jumped into her own.

Bucky would be waiting for her at the next station, all she had to do was get to it, and whatever these things were, they were not human, she knew that much. If they ever had been human, their humanity had been stripped away, now they were nothing more than monsters in mangled flesh. Grabbing her knife, and holding it in a reverse grip in alignment with her gun's handle, Texas knew her trip to the next station was going to be a long one, charging onward towards the Ghouls, ready for the fight of her life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that was really long but I'd love to know what everyone thought of this chapter as it's my first time writing for this pairing!


	6. A Love Corrupted By Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xarus awakens his bride.

Xarus sat in a chair simply observing Doctor Christine Palmer as she lay in his bed, watching her chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm that matched her heartbeat, listening in silence as he waited for the beating to finally cease. Her blood had been such a rare delicacy he had to stop himself from indulging his eternal thirst, however it would have done him no good to drink her dry. He didn’t lament that loss of power, for he had decided long ago that she would be much more suited to be at his side. She hadn’t awoken since their last meeting, although to prepare her for their next, Xarus had her blood soaked scrubs replaced for something more fitting of a meeting with the King of all Vampires. 

The black silk gown seemed to melt into the bed sheets she now slept on, outlining her figure as the vibrant pink flush on her cheeks from the fight had faded now to the snowy porcelain, along with the fine lines, wrinkles and marks that showed her age. Her body was changing, bringing her back to the peak of her beauty while she remained suspended in slumber. 

Telepathically Xarus touched the fringe of Christine’s subconscious mind, just to see what she was dreaming about. He watched serene scenes of warmth where she lounged in her large poster bed, cuddled up in her husband’s arms, surrounded by candlelight. He could feel the wind rustling through the grass, peals of giggles and soft begging by her daughter to push her again on the swing. Now, Xarus knew, was the time to put into motion the next part of his plans for Doctor Palmer. 

In the waking world he reached out with his hand, holding it just above her face, while within the realm of her subconscious mind he did the same. Her body was already perfectly relaxed, now he needed her mind to be blank. Thus using his outstretched hand he began to absorb and blacken the world of Christine’s dream, his power pouring out like ink spilling over a canvas, enveloping every last scrap of colour, eating every outline of every shape until all that remained was darkness. She needed to not be able to think, to not do anything, he could sense with her transformation she was already starting to gain power thus he had to act quickly if she was to remain under his control. 

“Christine?” he asked, his voice, neutral, questioning, for now at the very least. 

“Mmph?” her head rolled to the side, and her eyes slowly opened. The sight to her wouldn’t have been unfamiliar were he not in control, as he towered over her with a smirk, just as he had on before he had taken her away. However, there was something different about Xarus, only this time, it had been a far more alluring sight to Christine. Downright irresistible to a human, really, and with Xarus completely in control of her sleepy mind she couldn’t look away this time. 

The black pupils of the Vampire King had narrowed into tiny pinpoints, and from the sides, his irises fractured into rings and multiplied, spiraling inwards towards his pupils before disappearing and another ring coming in at the edges of his eyes to replace it, the whites of his eyes glowing along with the crimson coloured rings surrounding them, a marking of one with the blood of the Elders. Christine couldn’t look away from those spirals that drew her in deeper, piercing the mental veil between her subconscious and conscious minds, thus when Xarus spoke, her will melted like wax beneath the commanding flames of his power. 

“Relax, my darling, there is no need to be afraid, you are home now,” Xarus whispered to Christine, sensing her fear through the hold he had over her “I want you to relax for me, with each passing word I speak, you feel more and more relaxed,” he had dosed her with the right amount of venom to make her transformation velvety smooth, and the less her body fought it, the quicker she would turn “You may start to feel breathless, that’s okay, just let it go, for there is something more important you must do, you must listen to me, and in a moment, I will ask you to repeat after me, and each time you repeat what I say, it shall become more and more true until it is undeniable to you… do you understand? You may not speak yet, just nod, yes or no, my dear?” 

Christine nodded, Xarus grinned. 

“Now, repeat after me, out loud; I renounce my love for my husband, Stephen Strange,” 

“I renounce my love for my husband, Stephen Strange,” her voice was soft, monotone, her mind taking Xarus’ words as their new gospel. 

“My true love is Xarus Dracul,” That might have been a lie on his part towards her, although he couldn’t deny that Christine was an exquisite woman, this was just a stepping stone for his larger goal that she would help him achieve. 

“My true love is Xarus Dracul,” she parroted back, not even blinking as she continued to gaze into the spirals of his eyes. 

“I shall turn Stephen Strange,” Xarus grinned, tongue snaking out to gloss the razor sharp canines that still harbored the after-taste of her blood. 

“I shall turn Stephen Strange,” Christine affirmed, her new mission taking root within her drive. 

“And I shall become Xarus Dracul’s bride and Queen,” his reward for her service, she would spend eternity at his side ruling over his new dark kingdom while Doctor Strange, bound in service to him as his subject, would wallow in his despair at their feet over his failure to protect the world, and her. 

“And I shall become Xarus Dracul’s bride and Queen,” 

“Good, very good Christine, you may stop repeating now,” Xarus could feel her mind start to slip away as her heart slowed, smiling as he witnessed her final moments as a mortal woman “Now, my love, sleep… for when you awaken, you will be reborn in darkness, as my Queen,” his voice lulled her back into her now dreamless slumber, her eyelids feeling heavier than stone as they closed again. Xarus ceased his predatory, hypnotic stare and sat back in the chair he had been resting in at her bedside. 

Christine's fragile, human heart beat one last time. Her last breath leaving her plush lips as rain began to pour from outside, the grandfather clock in the corner of the room starting to chime. He looked over at the clock, smiling in his hour of this first, small victory. He stood up from where he sat, sensing different mystical energies nearby entirely foreign to his own powers and that of his followers. It was time for the next phase of his plan. 

He had his bride, soon he would have the Sorcerer Supreme, and then, the invasion would begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 Hits and 10 Kudos! Wooooo! Thank you so much to everyone who has made it this far and I hope to continue to come with me as this crazy story continues!


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